We had to stop yet another UN condemnation involving Israel

Jazz ShawPosted at 9:21 am on December 19, 2017

After the President’s move to recognize Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel and begin plans to move our embassy there, the Palestinians quickly suggested having the United Nations take over the job of moderating the peace process. At that time, I wrote about what a terrible idea that would be, citing the many times the U.S. has had to step in and veto a seemingly endless series of blatantly antisemitic resolutions passed by the organization’s Security Council.

The news last night was pretty much right on schedule given the background I just mentioned. The Security Council quickly moved to vote on a new resolution condemning the United States for that recognition. And once again, Nikki Haley had to step in on our behalf and scotch the idea. (Reuters)

The United States was further isolated on Monday over President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital when it blocked a United Nations Security Council call for the declaration to be withdrawn.

The remaining 14 council members voted in favor of the Egyptian-drafted resolution, which did not specifically mention the United States or Trump but which expressed “deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem.”

“What we witnessed here in the Security Council is an insult. It won’t be forgotten,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said after the vote, adding that it was the first veto cast by the United States in more than six years.

If anyone was expecting an apology from Haley they were severely disappointed, because she took the opportunity to instead scold the rest of the Security Council members.

“The fact that this veto is being done in defense of American sovereignty and in defense of America’s role in the Middle East peace process is not a source of embarrassment for us; it should be an embarrassment to the remainder of the Security Council,” Haley said.

And would you care to guess who jumped on the condemnation train against the United States? It was Turkey, of course… precisely the people who should be preaching to anyone else right about now. (/sarc) And this is the same nation which recently threatened to move their embassy into East Jerusalem in a show of support for the Palestinians. Their Foreign Minister is quoted as saying that “Washington has lost its “impartiality” on Middle East matters and that this was “the most concrete indication of the illegitimacy of the U.S. decision on Jerusalem.”

Just to put a cherry on top of this tasty dish, guess who is volunteering to take over our role in the peace process. If you said Vladimir Putin, give yourself a cookie.

Russia says it’s ready to become “an honest mediator” between the Israelis and Palestinians, a role the United States has played for years.

Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador Vladimir Safronkov offered Russia’s role in a speech to the U.N. Security Council Monday. It came after he supported a resolution, vetoed by the U.S., that would have required President Donald Trump to rescind his decision declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

What’s truly sad is that the UN would probably go along with the idea. Yes… Russia would be an ideal, impartial arbitrator for Israel, right? Right? Anyone?

Maybe it really is time to just shut down Turtle Bay and convert it to a new resort hotel and casino complex. The Security Council is little more than a sad joke at this point.